Michelle Pilecki
Some 26 billion gallons of raw sewage are dumped into the Great Lakes every year, according to the Great Lakes Sewage Report Card, a study published by the Sierra Legal Defence Fund (the entire 57-page pdf is here). As you might discern from the spelling, the organization is Canadian, and it's mainly the Canadian press that's taking note, even though -- theoretically at least -- more Americans are the cause and at...
from Reuters.com
Former AIG head Maurice "Hank" Greenberg is looking at a possible takeover of the New York Times Co, according to CNBC today. The report — which cited no sources — comes on the heels of news, reported by the New York Post, that the former insurance boss has been buying up shares in the company to muscle into the stronghold of the Sulzberger family, the largest shareholders and the historical seat of power of the New York Times.
This announcement comes less than three weeks after Morgan Stanley recommended that shareholders sell NYT stock and urged the breakup of the two-tiered stock structure that concentrates power with the Sulzberger family. According to BusinessWeek, Greenberg's overtures could increase pressure on company management, adding to the pressure Morgan Stanley has already applied. However, NYT spokeswoman Catherine J. Mathis told BusinessWeek said that the company had no plans to amend the two-tiered share class structure.
Earlier this month Greenberg was rumored to have been eyeing the Los Angeles Times along with billionaire suitors like Ron Burkle, Eli Broad, and David Geffen. Meanwhile, the NYT has seemed unwilling to entertain offers for The Boston Globe by former GE head Jack Welch.
The market responded to the news with active trading on the NYSE, with the share price rising $1.42 to $24.45 this afternoon.
from NYObserver.com
Today's New York Observer cover story is perhaps the best indication of the movie Event with a capital "E" that next month's release of Dreamgirls is in this town, because there's not really anything new in it. Anyone who is obsessed with the long-awaited release of this film (see Chelsea; West Village piano bars; the hallowed halls of NY media) knows most of the backstory of finally getting the 1982 Tony-winning and highly beloved musical on to the screen and has more or less followed its progress through production to the pre-release publicity runup. As Observer cover stories go, it is more reverent and less juicy than usual, which to me suggests that this piece is more about topic than story, that is to say, New York wants its Dreamgirls! (NB I mean no disrespect to writer Sarah Vilkomerson , who pulls together and updates the story very effectively, it's just that it's not tingling with tidbits the way most NYO cover stories are. That will no doubt change once Jamie Foxx and his ego start clubbing his way around town once the film comes out — we modestly predict a number of impromptu sing-songs. Well we remember the aftermath of Ray).
But this is the New York Observer; and if it's Oscar they crave, Dreamgirls has to fly in Peoria, too. One interesting point that is almost buried at the bottom is the Dreamgirl-iffic question of black performer crossover appeal: "But within studio walls, echoing Dreamgirls' own themes, there were concerns about how to sell an all-black cast," as it was noted that "a period African-American musical, at face value, doesn't sound like it has enormous foreign potential" (or domestic, necessarily; remember Idlewild?). With respect, I point out that, well, we're not alone anymore, now there are others there; namely, the wider audience of YouTube, where the video of Jennifer Holiday singing "And I Am Telling You" at the 1982 Tonys has gotten over 326,000 hits*, a figure which will no doubt increase exponentially as PR for the film ramps up. Today's technology offers the chance to expose a huge audience to Dreamgirls in a way that was unimaginable for previously planned versions, and that will expose a whole other audience which might otherwise have had zero interest in or exposure to some highfalutin' Broadway musical from over two decades ago. Put differently: It's not the dream that they had before, it's the dream that will give them more and more!
*Combined - there are two of them.
From Jossip.com
Life & Style editor Debra Birnbaum was suddenly — and by all accounts, unceremoniously — fired yesterday by Bauer Publishing for the unforgivable sins of breaking too much celebrity news and keeping circulation levels above rate base. According to Keith Kelly at the NYPost, Birnbaum's surprise replacement by general manager Mark Pasetsky was seen by those in the know as either "jealousy among the In Touch staff, who resented younger sibling Life & Style breaking celebrity news stories; the other story was that Life & Style's circulation growth not keeping up with expectations." Those expectations, says Kelly, were for a paid circulation jump to 1 million from the current 704,000, which itself reflected a hike from the established rate base of 600,000.
Meanwhile, Pasetsky's qualifications are more on the business than edit side, though Kelly's sources and those of Jossip, which broke the news, say that Pasetsky has always been very involved in cover stories and selection, copy, and the original concept of combining celebrity and fashion in one title. That balance may have been key to the decision; Jossip reports that Bauer wanted more fashion and style, and Birnbaum was all about the breaking celeb news. In yesterday's follow-up memo Bauer CEO Hubert Boehle also emphasized style, saying that Pasetsky would "bolster" style coverage and "continue to deliver" celeb news, saying that "celebrity style coverage" and "lifestyle news" was the key to Life & Style.
Birnbaum is apparently in "total shock" after yesterday, having been axed and ejected from the building in ridiculously short order. Jossip has the memo from Bauer here and the Life &Style backstory items here.
Newsweek yesterday broke the news that NewsCorp's cancelled O.J. Simpson book-and-TV-special project, "If I Did It," has a strange backstory: Apparently, when Barbara Walters decided not to do the television special (as per last week's NYO), ABC had to pay NewsCorp an approximately $1 million kill fee. Johnnie L. Roberts reports that Walters was actually serious enough about exploring the idea of hosting, with negotiations bound by a non-disclosure agreement prohibiting ABC or NewsCorp to discuss the terms of the deal. Nonetheless, Roberts was able to obtain these and other facts, including the fact that publisher Judith Regan shopped it first to ABC as news, and then as entertainment.
Of course, now that the project is dead (along with any plans for profit), the time for blame is nigh, and News Corp sources tell Roberts that ABC had strung ReganBooks along unfairly. Per Roberts: "People in both camps said that ABC paid the kill fee either to avoid embarrassing press leaks about the dealings or to maintain cordial relations with the feisty Regan, who has a knack for cultivating authors from tabloid headlines."
Related: If They Did It [New York Observer]
This is interesting: Men's Health has quietly launched a video initiative featuring the mag's nutrition editor and "Short-Order Cook" columnist Matt Goulding demonstrating cooking techniques, the latest of which was an instructional video on preparing a Thanksgiving turkey in 90 minutes featuring Goulding doing just that. It's a slick-looking video, well-filmed and edited, with a professional title sequence and what appears to be some decent video equipment (note the reflection of professional lighting equipment in the kitchen window at 1:04). Goulding is an extremely chatty and effective host, except for the beginning shot on location at a farm in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, where he holds a blinking turkey in his arms, oblivious to its fate. Innocent turkey! Oh, to retroactively be a vegan.
This is just one of a series called "Short Order Cook" on "MHTV" — a short series so far (two), with the other video shows Goulding demonstrating knife skills (8 - 12 inches, if you please) as he sends pieces of celery and onion flying. Kid knows his way around a Ginsu. What's interesting here is the step toward not just recreating mag content on YouTube but separate but complementary creative content for an additional platform — necessary if mags are to value-add online and in video (another great example of this is Radar's Bruno-esque fashion week video). Content like this takes it a step further than cover shot outtakes (though successful at Vanity Fair and a staple at Jane) or servicey how-to's (though this Glamour blow-out video may have inspired the purchase of Velcro rollers). Self, you almost had me with this great yoga video by Jennifer Aniston's yoga teacher but you lost me at "Before you begin the workout you may want to do, like, 22 minutes of cardio."
Inspired, value-adding video and online content isn't just cute website candy — now it's Ellie bait, thanks to the new expanded National Magazine Awards categories which will include more online material across the board: In addition to a general excellence award, online content will have its own service and feature awards, and the essay, column/commentary, and reviews/criticism categories will now accept submissions from online mags and/or editions. Even the hallowed Pulitzer Prize has expanded to include online-only material, including video and interactive graphic displays (we're sure Jen's yoga teacher is in the running). This year's Ellies should be interesting, given the sea change in online mag presence since a year ago (two words: Conde Net) and the fact that mags are still figuring out how to do this newfangled online thingie. The Ellie submissions are due on Jan. 3, 2007, just after Christmas. So mag editors, if you need a little extra time to prepare your applications, at least now you know how to save a few hours on cooking that turkey.
On Monday, ABC's The Blotter reported that the U.S. Embassy in Argentina had "strongly suggested" that twin First daughters Jenna and Barbara Bush cut their visit to the country short as a result of security considerations. That report was since refuted by the Embassy, which issued a statement of non-expulsion, saying the Embassy "welcomed" the visit. Interestingly, last night's Daily Show presented the story without the Embassy denial; note that the date they showed on the ABC quote was Nov. 28th but the Embassy denial came on the evening of Nov. 27th (and was dutifully appended to the Blotter post). This is the first time in ETP's awareness that a Daily Show piece of news has not been scrupulously correct . Either way, it's still pretty damn funny, though.
Incidentlaly, the Bush Twins were in Argentina to celebrate their birthdy, which was this past weekend — which makes them both Sagittarius...just like Stewart, who celebrated his 44th birthday last night on the air. Happy birthday, all!
Eric Boehlert
The right-wing conveyor belt of attacks on the press, often loopy and fact-free, is usually not worth rebutting in detail. But the latest spasm triggered by Election Day losses deserves a closer look, since it represents a preview of the permanent campaign conservative critics will wage as Democrats take control of Congress. In other words, after years of playing defense for the GOP, this is what conservative press critics, led by Bozell, look like playing...
